Office psychology

Prague's offices are changing. Economic pressure and shifting work patterns are creating the need for a new kind of working environment. "It's an evolutionary process," says John Hughes, principle of the Applied Research Group at Steelcase, a U.S.-based consultancy firm made up of designers, psychologists and business people. Hughes' department helps businesses achieve their goals through workspace redesign. Their Czech office's clients include KPMG, Ernst &Young, BDO, Johnson & Johnson, SAP and LeasePlan. Hughes spoke Nov. 3 at the American Chamber of Commerce's conference on the competitive advantage of effective workplaces. "As companies become more competitive, they are looking for new ways to achieve an advantage," he says.

"Managers often think about changing HR, process and technology to improve results. But I tell them that there is a fourth variable: space," says Hughes. "After all, behaviors happen in space."

One powerful engine behind the increased interest in workplace layout is the impact of the economic crisis on the real estate market. Edward Forej of Jones Lang LaSalle, who also spoke at the conference, stressed the difficulty of finding a business location in the city. "Although vacancy rates across Europe are rising, the vacancy rate in Prague 1 through 5 is still less than 8 percent," Forej pointed out. "Tenants traditionally allowed 6 months to find new offices in Prague, but now need to allow around 2 years."

Despite the continued need for quality office space in central Prague, crisis-mode financing has inevitably led to a slowdown in construction of new office space and increased the challenge for businesses relocating in, or to, Prague, explained Radim Passer, one of the developers behind office multiplex BB Centrum who was also part of the  conference panel. "Projects which seemed very viable before the economic crisis, such as development of Prague's brown fields, have been put on hold indefinitely," Passer said. "But every [business] is dependent on the quality of its employees, and if you do not provide a pleasant working environment then it is hard to find the right people."

The constraints of the current real estate market are conflated with the slow-burn effect of changing work patterns as a new generation enters the office. Baby Boomers, now in their 60s and 70s, are retiring, and Generation Xers, in their 30s and 40s, are being joined by Millenials, those tech-savvy twentysomethings who scoff at routine. "When I watch my 18-year-old daughter working, she's at her laptop, earplugs in, sending texts between sentences, and having an argument with me all at once," says Hughes. "Younger employees work in a different way from Traditionalists, Baby Boomers and even Gen Xers. They are more confident with technology, they are more flexible, and they are skilled multitaskers."

At the forefront of the changing use of office space in Prague is consultancy firm Image Lab, which counts Česká spořitelna, McDonalds, Škoda, Vodafone, Astra Zeneca and Opavia among its clients. Image Lab consultants apply psychological understanding of workers' needs and behaviors to achieve improved business performance.

"Every office has a company culture, and when people are separated [it] leads to fragmented subcultures," says Vratislav Kalenda, who founded the company with his brother Martin in 1996 after both left the medical profession.  

Image Lab advocates close proximity between workers, but Kalenda says this proximity has to be offset by other available space. "Do you know what happens to rats kept in a small space? They eat each other," he says with ghoulish enjoyment. "High density means high stress."

Image Lab practices what it preaches, with management, consultants and marketing all seated near each other but moving into other available pockets of space throughout the working day. There is a room for quiet study, two conference rooms and a room for private calls, as well as a tearoom and smoking room. Staff are also encouraged to work from home when they need to concentrate for individual work, and the internal network can be fully accessed online.

"The design and layout is in accordance to our way of working," says Image Lab Account Manager Ondřej Rak, who trained as a psychologist. "Every employee has his or her own desk for individual work, and we have meeting rooms for the group meetings and projects. The culture here is based on working in micro-teams, and we have an open communication culture. That means we are discussing things together, and the office design supports that."

"The main reason to go to an office is to share information and support communication," explains Kalenda. "At one time, non-work related communication was considered a crime, but now contact is encouraged. Socializing is the glue that binds people."

Kalenda recommends open and nonhierarchical office design for most clients. "That way, you allow learning through observation, without instruction. People can learn from other people. In an easy way, a random and an unintentional way - but learning nonetheless."

Hughes agrees and cites a project he recently oversaw in relocating PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). "If you scatter leadership among the staff, younger people learn leadership skills fast," he says, recalling how increased exposure to management, in tandem with the hierarchy-affirming impact of closed offices for senior figures, cuts down on the need for training at PwC. "And innovation comes through unplanned encounters in conversation between diverse groups of people," he adds. "Mixing people up is often a good idea."

In a worst-case scenario, Hughes says, businesses lose money and time because working space is outmoded and no longer serves its purpose. "It is not at all unusual for [only] 10 percent of space in an office to be occupied at any time," he says. "Desks are empty because of the requirement to work in teams. People are working in the cafeteria or at Starbucks because they need more open space." He points out that strategies such as desk sharing have become standard practice in telecommunications firms such as Vodafone and O2.

Hughes says he is slowly seeing companies' attitudes to office design change. "Why has it taken so long? It's a right versus left side of the brain conflict. Design is creative, and business leaders tend to be analytical people."

"Ten years ago, maybe space wasn't considered important, but we've seen that change," says Hughes. "Managers are increasingly recognizing space-management as a way of reducing costs, increasing effectiveness and changing work culture and behavior. Space has become a strategic concern."

Natalia O'Hara can be reached at
features@praguepost.com